Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Implementing Healthcare Reform and the Future of Conservative Doublespeak

As is the case with the many, many, many conservative Tea Partiers today, watch how conservative folks continue to blather on and on and on about the end of civilization as they know it and the death of America and how Democrats will pay for not listening to "me, the people," etc., all the while they casually and willingly sign up for and take advantage of all the benefits that healthcare reform promises to them.

I suspect that there are conservatives who worry about their health security, yet who simply as a matter of instinctive reaction to the chicken-little doom-and-gloom prognosticators on Faux-news and talk radio say they are opposed to this "unconstitutional power grab and liberty-crushing government takeover," who also secretly are experiencing a sense of relief that this bill protects their health security. I suspect that there are conservatives who are entertaining a little ray of hope in the midst of their sourpuss Scrooginess that, maybe, you know, this bill really will free them up from the worries of crushing healthcare costs so that they can concentrate on building their businesses, doing their jobs, and enjoying life a bit more. And I suspect that as conservatives get used to the idea that life is better for me under the provisions of this bill, their opposition to the program will be directed not at the program itself, but rather at including the "undeserving" thee in it.

I KNOW that the first time an anti-reform conservative faces the decision by their health insurance company to deny them coverage under pre-existing conditions, they will be the first to wave that Healthcare Reform bill in the face of the insurance company. I KNOW that when an anti-reform conservative gets a call from his or her 22 year old child who is graduating college this May and says that she can't get a job in spite of her best efforts and worries about how she is going to treat her asthma, her anti-reform parents will tell her not to worry and will then go to their insurance company waving the new bill in their faces and order them to keep their daughter on their health insurance plan. I KNOW that every anti-reform conservative senior citizen Medicare recipient faced with the prospect of not having enough money to buy his or her medications will cash that $250 dollar check this year and will look forward to having that doughnut hole closed in the Medicare Part B program. I know that anti-reform conservatives will embrace this program and will even flaunt it if necessary, all the while they will go to Townhall meetings promising to kick their representative who voted for that bill that they will be brandishing to their benefit out of office for "not listening to them." The hypocrisy will be palpable.

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